The invention relates to permanent magnet brushless motors that include a rotor that has interior permanent magnets. More particularly, the present invention relates to motor rotors that include interior permanent magnets and unequal poles.
Conventional permanent magnet brushless motors with interior permanent magnet (IPM) rotors have a non-sinusoidal distribution of the air-gap magnetic field. This non-sinusoidal distribution can lead to a non-sinusoidal back emf waveform, which can be detrimental to motor electronic control and can cause increased torque ripple, noise, and vibration. Furthermore, the repetitive structure of the poles (i.e., alternating North and South polarity poles having the same geometry) can cause an increase in the cogging torque.